 |
| I am an Army brat who moved around often while growing up. One of my first memories is of being given a huge ream of blank paper by the movers to keep me and my siblings occupied while our family's household goods were being boxed. I have always had art in my life even when very young. When I was in the second grade, I drew cartoon animals and charged my classmates a quarter each for them. In junior high school I was a little odd. Not everyone appreciated my four foot long purple paper mache hippopotamus or the results of mixing green and gray ceramic glazes together to paint a very lopsided vase. When I was a teenager, my mother taught me how to sew and how to embroider. In high school I sewed all of my dresses for special occasions From my mother I got my love of fabric and appreciation of beautiful embellishments, fibers and buttons. Now every time I sew, I always think of my mother and am very happy and thankful she taught me. The first job I ever had was as a clerk in a floral shop. I was still in high school. While my duties then consisted only of taking phone orders and sweeping up floral debris, I loved the sight and smell of all the cut flowers. I went to college for a year, hoping to major in art. College was difficult for me due to doubts, mine and otherwise, about my talent and abilities. I left school and went to work at another floral shop. Eventually the owners decided to teach me floral arranging. I got an excellent education *on the job* as opposed to having to attend a floral design school somewhere. It was immensely gratifying to me that clients were buying my original floral designs. I worked at many floral shops from coast to coast. Ikebana, the art of Japanese floral arrangement was one of my specialties. Creating very large floral pieces for banquets and parties was another. Maybe life as an Army brat made me better prepared for life as a Air Force wife when I married my husband, Mark, in 1986. In his twenty year career we moved ten times. We lived in seven different states and overseas in the Netherlands. Art took a three year hiatus while we lived in the Netherlands and traveled around Europe. When we weren't traveling, I taught the American style of floral arranging to the wives of NATO personnel stationed in the Netherlands. We returned to the States and moved to Virginia in 2001. I took a rubber stamping class in 2002. That eventually led me to experimenting with collage, altered books, assemblage, and making books by hand. I worked part time at a rubber stamp store and taught classes in altered books in Yorktown and Williamsburg, Virginia. My altered books were on display in two different locations in Yorktown. A couple years ago, a friend of mine encouraged me to look into creating art quilts. All I could envision were traditional quilt themes in traditional colors, with perfect seams and stitches. Since I work impulsively and quickly and imperfection is a given with me, I wasn't very enthusiastic about this art form. Then, I saw my first art quilt. Vibrant, yet torn fabric, imperfect seams, fused cloth and even glue-- now this was a fabric art I could relate to! I dusted off my old Singer sewing machine that had not been used in almost 15 years and started sewing again. Despite never having taken either a formal sewing or quilting class, my first submission to a quilting magazine was published in two different issues. Some of my art quilts were in a show in the Blue Ruin Gallery in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 2005. Some facts about my little family: I will have been married to my very best friend, Mark, for over twenty years. Mark is now a project manager for a large international corporation and travels frequently. I accompany him whenever I can. We split our time between our home in Tucson, Arizona and our homes in Albuquerque, New Mexico and Aurora, Colorado. Lola, our tri-colored Chihuahua is the Princess of Everything. Jolie follows in suit, and we have also adopted little Levi and Berry ... because as any Chi owner knows, you can't have just one! |
 | |  | |  | |  |
 | |  | |  | |  | |  |
| ALL CONTENT IN THIS WEBSITE BELONGS TO THERESA HALL DESIGNS AND IS COPY PROTECTED. NEVER tempt karma by taking what does not belong to you. If you wish to use one of my images in your own post anywhere, please contact me personally for permission. You may email me at: theresa@theresahalldesigns.com |